• Original research article
  • July 30, 2026
  • Open access

Metaphysics of a relational event: towards a dialectic of overcoming the crisis of quantum ontology

Abstract

The aim of the research is to develop a dialectical relational-event ontology (DREO), that is, a second-order metaphysical framework designed to resolve the fundamental problems of the philosophy of quantum physics: wave-particle dualism and the irreducible pluralism of interpretations. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the following: for the first time, not just another interpretation of quantum mechanics is proposed, but a meta-framework that dialectically sublates the pluralism of interpretations itself and demonstrates their systemic unity; the category of a "relational event" is introduced as a fundamental unit of being, which marks a transition from substantial metaphysics (debates on the individuality of objects) to a metaphysics of becoming; wave-particle dualism is interpreted not as ontological (two entities) and not as epistemological (N. Bohr's complementarity principle), but as a dialectical contradiction sublated in the concept of "relational potentiality" – a structure of possibilities actualized depending on the perspective; the complementarity of wave and particle for the first time receives ontological status – it is a mode of existence of quantum reality itself as a "pulsation" between modes of actualization; a new model of scientific rationality is substantiated – dialectical pluralism – where truth is not a property of an individual proposition but a property of the entire system of perspectives taken in their dialectical unity, which fundamentally distinguishes DREO from contextual quantum realism (CQR), which remains within the static opposition of "rule – application" and epistemological perspectivism. The key results of the study are the following ideas: a relational event (rather than an object or a relation in itself) is recognized as the fundamental unit of being – a discrete act of transition from the potential to the actual in a specific context of interaction; "particle" and "wave" are interpreted as two extreme, mutually exclusive and simultaneously complementary types of actualization of a single structure of potencies in different perspectives; the multiplicity of incompatible but empirically equivalent interpretations of quantum mechanics is shown not as a flaw in the theory, but as a logical consequence of the relational structure of reality, which requires a multitude of complementary perspectives for its adequate expression. Thus, the century-old opposition between objectivism and relativism in the philosophy of science is removed.

References

  1. Белинский А. В. Интерференция света и отсутствие определенных значений измеряемых величин априори // Сложные системы. 2016. № 4 (21).
  2. Бор Н. Избранные научные труды: в 2 т. / под ред. И. Е. Тамма, В. А. Фока, Б. Г. Кузнецова. М.: Наука, 1971. Т. 2: Статьи (1925-1961).
  3. Жмудь В. А. Корпускулярно-волновая дилемма и ее противопоставление дуальности // Автоматика и программная инженерия. 2016. № 2 (16).
  4. Прись И. Е. Кьюбизм, феноменология и контекстуальный квантовый реализм // Сибирский философский журнал. 2023. Т. 21. № 1. https://doi.org/10.25205/2541-7517-2023-21-1-13-42
  5. Прись И. Е., Сторожук А. Ю., Симанов А. Л. Реляционная интерпретация квантовой механики и контекстуальный реализм // Философия науки. 2019. № 2 (81). https://doi.org/10.15372/PS20190204
  6. Раджабов О. Р. Квантово-релятивистская картина мира как обобщение квантовой и релятивистской парадигм // Гуманизация образования. 2009. № 2.
  7. Терехович В. Э. Квантовая революция или революционные трансформации? // Эпистемология и философия науки. 2025. Т. 62. № 4. https://doi.org/10.5840/eps202562454
  8. Эйнштейн А., Инфельд Л. Эволюция физики: Развитие идей от первоначальных понятий до теории относительности и квантов. Изд-е 3-е, испр. / пер. с англ. и послесл. С. Г. Суворова. М.: Наука, 1965.
  9. Allori V. On quantum mechanics and the pilot-wave theory: empirical equivalence and other objections // Epistemology & Philosophy of Science. 2025. Vol. 62. No. 4.
  10. Arroyo R., Arenhart J. R. B. A prolegomenon to a metaphysics of non-individuals for quantum mechanics // Epistemology & Philosophy of Science. 2025. Vol. 62. No. 4.
  11. Jaeger G. Heisenberg’s representations of quantum reality // Epistemology & Philosophy of Science. 2025. Vol. 62. No. 4.
  12. Karakostas V., Kalyvas P. Objectivism vs perspectivism: traditional Hermeneutics of science and the contemporary quantum paradigm // Epistemology & Philosophy of Science. 2025. Vol. 62. No. 4.
  13. Pasqualini M., Fortin S.Interpretation of quantum mechanics and the ontology of phonons // Epistemology & Philosophy of Science. 2025. Vol. 62. No. 4.

Author information

Evgeny Vladimirovich Bolshakov

PhD

Lugansk Law Institute (branch) University of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation

About this article

Publication history

  • Received: April 20, 2026.
  • Published: July 30, 2026.

Keywords

  • диалектическая реляционно-событийная онтология
  • контекстуальный квантовый реализм
  • корпускулярно-волновой дуализм
  • диалектический плюрализм
  • реляционное событие
  • dialectical relational-event ontology
  • contextual quantum realism
  • wave-particle dualism
  • dialectical pluralism
  • relational event

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)
© 2026 Gramota Publishing, LLC

User license

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)